Motorsports
Dakar Rally: Al Atiya comfortably remains first, fourfold battle on motorcycles
In 9th qualifying of the Dakar Rally, Nasser Al Atiya won another minute ahead of Sebastian Leb in a 1-2-3 from Toyota and maintained the safety margin to the Frenchman in 39 minutes – KTM’s Matthias Walkner was responsible for the motorcycles.
When the three Toyota Hilux T1 + from Gazoo Racing dominated the 287 km long Wadi al-Dawasir Special, Ziniel de Viger was only 9 seconds faster than Hank Lategan, while Nasser Al Attiya was a minute behind.
Sebastian Leb achieved his fifth year and lost 1:07 to Al Attiyah – but there is only one problem that can withhold his fourth victory in Qatar in the world’s most important rally raid race, as his lead is still 39:05 minutes over the French , and there are only three days of racing left to the finish.
Audis Matthias Ekström and Stefan Petrancel could have won today if they hadn’t paved the way, as the Swede was fifth and the French eighth, 2:07 and 3:45 minutes behind De Viger. After the multiple problems of the drivers of the electric Audi RS Q e-tron in the past few days, the Extreme is the only one with hopes of a place in the top ten – he is 10 minutes away from the French Mathieu Serrandori from SRT Racing (century).
De Viger meanwhile climbed to 5th place overall, 9 minutes behind BRX-Prodrives 4th Orlando Teranova. Recall that the 5-hour sentence imposed on the South African for hauling a fallen motorcycle (as the driver managed to escape) was overturned after an appeal by Toyota.
On the other hand, the battle for victory on motorcycles is shocking and multifaceted. Four drivers with four different drivers are separated from each other by a total of only 4:41 minutes. Matthias Walkner from KTM took over today after GasGas’s Sam Sunderland’s problems, which were particularly difficult to pave the way.
Since the Briton was only 13 years old, the Austrian Walkner won 6 minutes in the fight between them, gaining a lead of 2:12 minutes over Sunderland, 3:56 minutes over Adrien van Beveren of Yamaha and 4:41 minutes over Pablo Quintanilla of Honda. Kevin Benavides (KTM) and Joan Barreda Bort (Honda), who follow after 10:22 and 10:57 minutes respectively, also give rise to hopes.
In today’s special stage, Jose Ignacio Cornejo dominated the Honda CRF450 rally, winning 1:26 over Benavides and 1:47 ahead of his Honda colleague Ricky Brabek. But the American, who was the first man to win the KTM in 15 years, is out of action because he is 10th and 36 minutes away from Walkner.
The Greeks from Dakar, Vangelis Bersis and Fotis Koutsoumpos, entered today’s special stage after making a big jump to 58th place in the general Classic category the day before. After leaving the mechanical problems of Friday behind and changing some mechanical parts of the Mitsubishi Pajero on Saturday, they put a lot of pressure on and despite the small problems, they gained almost 25 places in the ranking.
DAKAR RALLYE 2022 – ED9
CARS
1. Al Atiya (Toyota) 30:10:04
2. Leb (BRX) +39: 05
3. Al Razi (Toyota) +58: 44
4. Teranova (BPX) +1: 36:09
5. De Viger (Toyota) +1: 45:01
MOTORCYCLES
1. Walkner (KTM) 30:14:03
2. Sunderland (GasGas) 02:12
3. Van Beveren (Yamaha) +03: 56
4. Quintania (Honda) + 04:41
5. K. Benavides (Honda) +10: 22
Source: sport24
Jessica Martinez is an author at Sportish, a publication dedicated to sports news and analysis. She covers various topics related to sports and provides insightful commentary on the latest developments in the world of sports.
Motorsports
Red Bull finally decides on Verstappen’s team
After several significant personnel changes in the team, Max Verstappen has finally learned who he will be working with in the Red Bull pits for the new season.
At the end of last year, it became known that three key members of the four-time world champion’s headquarters had left. According to De Telegraaf, Jeff Ayton replaced Verstappen’s vehicle control engineer Michael Manning, who left the team after the 2025 season. He has previously worked with other Red Bull drivers and worked temporarily with Verstappen in Manning’s absence last year.
Verstappen’s former engine mechanic David Mart has moved to Audi and his replacement at Red Bull has not yet been determined. Performance engineer Tom Hart is also leaving the team; He will join Williams but will continue to work with the Milton Keynes-based team for a while.
Changes also occurred among mechanics. After Matt Culler moved to the position of Audi’s chief mechanic, Verstappen was replaced as his first mechanic by his twin brother John Culler. He is well known to Max, who has previously held a similar position on the other side of the Red Bull pits, working alongside Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.
Despite rumors about the winter break, Gianpiero Lambiase will remain Verstappen’s race engineer for another season.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
Motorsports
Ferrari will have a red-white livery. Images of the Scuderia jersey have been revealed
Photos of the allegedly leaked Ferrari F1 team jerseys for the 2026 season have appeared on the internet.
The published photos show a red T-shirt with white inserts.
Ferrari will officially announce its color on January 23. At the same time, some sources reported that the design of the 2026 car should be “pleasantly surprising”.
Given that Ferrari and other teams have used darker shades of their primary colors (red in the Scuderia’s case) in recent years, the introduction of red and white team uniforms could signal a move towards a lighter color scheme.
The same idea is put forward in a video published on the Scuderia’s official account.
2026 FERRARI PRODUCTS? 👀 pic.twitter.com/ClhblugnUh
— La Gazzetta Ferrari (@GazzettaFerrari) January 18, 2026
It’s just a matter of time⏱️ pic.twitter.com/SyykHCiHcw
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) January 18, 2026
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
Motorsports
F1 champion: “We may see a complete surprise in the championship fight this year”
Former Formula 1 champion Damon Hill has warned fans that the winner of the 2026 season could be a real surprise.
The current large-scale changes to the regulations are among the biggest in the history of the sport. They are expected to change the balance of power in the starting grid for a long time.
Hill is confident that the pundits have no idea who will start the new season with the best cars because the cars will be completely different, even in terms of handling.
Particular attention of the expert is drawn to Aston Martin, which was able to make a leap from the middle of the table after signing Adrian Newey from Red Bull.
Hill noted the following about Lando Norris’ chances of defending his title:
“All bets are off for this year. We don’t know who will be in uniform. You can’t automatically assume that pilots who performed well under previous regulations can now do it again.”
The cars are completely different. “50% of engine power is now provided by the electric battery, and this affects the way cars are controlled, their aerodynamics and their design.”
Hill added that the season could be a complete surprise:
“Yes, you can [ожидать смену эпохи в Ф1 в этом году]. We may see a complete surprise. It’s like Jenson Button beating Brown; Everyone was surprised because they understood the rules better.
“And the master of understanding the rules is Adrian Newey, who went to Aston Martin. He left Red Bull and Max Verstappen, Christian Horner also left that team. But he went to Aston Martin.”
“So we’re waiting for him to wave his magic wand over Aston Martin. And it could happen.”
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
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